August Roads tells two stories of struggle and redemption set against the remote wilds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and along the historical grace of the Natchez Trace Parkway In ANWAR, Gillam Wheaton Taylor-Wheat to his friends-is an urban professional who becomes embroiled in the serpentine maneuverings of politics in Washington D.C. Struggling to reconcile success with happiness, he becomes obsessed with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during the 2000 presidential campaigns of Al Gore and George W. Bush. He is lured north, toward a place so far outside of his experience that "he couldn't even visualize it." His journey into the unknown reveals fundamental truths, but leaves him balanced precariously between life and death. In The Trace, Charles Bear Winston is in a race against time to resolve the pain and tragedy of his life. As his body fails him, he journeys with his aging mother along the Natchez Trace Parkway, an historic route that winds gracefully for almost 450 miles from the cypress swamps of Mississippi to the forested hills of Tennessee, passing the birth places of Elvis Presley and Oprah Winfrey as well as ancient Indian mounds and Civil War battle sites. He reconnects with the forests and the fields, the history and the wildlife, as he urgently searches for the meaning of home. But does he have enough time? Kirk Ward Robinson has been to the places he describes in August Roads. He has been startled and terrified by a grizzly bear in the bush, smelled its fetid breath up close. He has wandered through the ice fogs of the northern latitudes, has gazed down upon the vast splendor of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from a high mountain pass, and has bicycled the length of the Natchez Trace Parkway in both directions, almost 900 miles through a narrow corridor of natural and human history. His books, articles and stories read with the authenticity of true experience, revealing the essential importance of wild and special places in America.

While hiking through the Scottish Highlands on vacation, Robinson becomes captivated by the history he finds along every step, leading him toward a deeper connection with natural and human history. He later returns to Europe, and sets out to follow in the footsteps of both Hannibal and Joan of Arc. Hiking through Spain, France, and Italy, he moves from one comic misadventure to another; but along the way he discovers beauty and friendship, and a profound connection with the past. Robinson tells the histories of Hannibal and Joan of Arc in fascinating detail, weaving the stories of their lives and journeys into his own in a memoir of exploration and discovery that bridges the millennia. Hiking Through History is sure to entertain and inform fans of travel, history, and adventure.

A companion to Founding Character: The Words & Documents That Forged a Nation, Founding Courage: Courage and Character in the United States of America is an inspiring reference that explores the physiological, psychological, and sociological roots of courage and then goes on to demonstrate how courageous actions have helped shape the character of the United States of America. The lives of seven Americans are retold and brought together to show how their successive generations, from the Founding to the near present, all faced critical challenges. How these Americans?George Washington, David Crockett, Robert Gould Shaw, Crazy Horse, Matthew Henson, Rachel Carson, and Karen Silkwood?rose to meet those challenges, and sometimes sacrificed their lives, provide essential lessons in how Americans can continue to overcome the challenges and dangers ahead.

In this expanded new edition, Kirk Ward Robinson presents the Founding documents of the United States of America, with additional interpretation to reinforce his premise that the character of the nation and its people, even in modern times, derives not only from the ideals expressed in the Founding documents, but also from the historical pressures that led to their creation. These documents-The Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, Thomas Jefferson's "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, Treaty of Paris, Constitution of the United States, Bill of Rights, President George Washington's Farewell Address-built upon one another to create a sense of expectation that is unique to America; a sense of expectation that permeates American society, influencing profound greatness as well as bitter debate. Founding Character: Documents That Define the United States of America and its People, the first book in Robinson's Founding Trilogy, is a companion to Founding Courage: Courage and Character in the United States of America, and Founding Conservation (forthcoming). Founding Character is an accessible reference to the Founding of America, suitable for the classroom or the general reader. Also included are the Amendments to the Constitution, a guide to the states and their constitutions, and Thomas Paine's Common Sense.